The Holmes Brothers @ The Egg, 3/5/10

By GREG HAYMES
Special to the Times Union
ALBANY – There’s something utterly timeless about the music of the Holmes Brothers. Perhaps it’s that oh-so-delicate balance of Saturday night blues and Sunday morning gospel. Perhaps it’s the unmistakable, often eerie falsetto voice of drummer Popsy Dixon. Or perhaps it’s simply that the music comes from way down deep in their souls.
They’re been playing together for 30 years now, and throughout their career, they’ve made frequent stops in the Capital Region. But their return to The Egg on Friday seemed somehow more special than most. They had just released a new album, “Feed My Soul,” on Tuesday, and the music sounded fresh. But it was more than that. In 2008, guitarist-vocalist Wendell Holmes was diagnosed with cancer, but he beat it, and he seems stronger than ever. And as a result, their music on Friday sounded deeper and richer, inspired and fully energized, despite the fact that the theater was only about one-third full.
They opened with a string of gospel songs, Dixon leading the way with a rumbling, and yet stately reading of “Precious Lord,” with Wendell at the grand piano and brother Sherman Holmes thrumming on his bass. “Take Me Away, Lord” was the first selection of the night that was culled from the new album, and as Wendell explained, “We’re gonna play you another Jesus song, before we get to rockin’.” No problem.
The rockin’ wasn’t a problem, either. Wendell simply got up from the piano bench, strapped on his electric guitar and the trio launched into a blistering take on Jimmy Reed’s blues classic, “Big Boss Man.” Wendell wasn’t fooling around. His guitar strumming somehow merged the major elements of jazz and country music…and made them sound uniquely his own.
They shifted gears for the old Jim Reeves country ballad, “He’ll Have to Go,” and if you think that country music can’t have soul, this aching waltz proved you dead wrong. The trio also tackled a pair of Beatles songs – “I’ll Be Back” and “And I Love Her” – and the latter was a brilliant re-interpretation, as Dixon brought a dark, foreboding tinge to what had previously been a lovely, rather straight-forward love ballad.
Sherman took over the lead vocals for “Dark Cloud.” Wendell sang of the current trying economic times during “The Edge of the Ledge.” And they returned again to the glorious gospel sounds of “Jesus on the Mainline” and “May God Be With You” to wrap up the show in soaring, soulful fashion.
Featuring the equally soulful voice of Mike Mattison (of the Derek Trucks Band), opening act Scrapomatic was a perfect fit. Relaxed and sitting down, the threesome – which also included guitarist-vocalist Paul Olsen and guitarist Dave Yoke (of the Susan Tedeschi Band) – dished out a blues bag of excellent original tunes such as “Killing Yourself on Purpose” and “Crime Fighter” (with Mattison utilzing his falsetto to its best use) before closing out the night with the Rev. Gary Davis’ “I Belong to the Band.”
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The Holmes Brothers
With Scrapomatic
When: 8 p.m. Friday, March 5
Where: The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany
Musical highlights: The Holmes Brothers’ “He’ll Have to Go” and the soul ballad “Feed My Soul”; Scrapomatic’s “Crime Fighter” and the jazzy “Lotus”
Length: Holmes Brothers – 85 minutes; Scrapomatic – 45 minutes
Upcoming: It’s classic rock night at The Egg tonight (Saturday) with the double-bill of Leon Russell and Dave Mason.
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Greg Haymes is a freelance writer from Castleton-On-Hudson.